The police on Saturday said a policeman who was reported murdered on the first day of the #EndBadGovernance nationwide protests has “miraculously survived”.

“Nine (9) police officers sustained various degrees of injuries during attacks by protesters.

“One of them who initially was reported dead, miraculously survived but remains in critical condition,” Force spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi said in a statement on Saturday.

Adejobi also said a total of 618 suspects have been arrested so far for various violent crimes during the protests. The suspects were arrested in Abuja, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Nasarawa, and Sokoto.

At a briefing on Thursday, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, had said a policeman was murdered while on duty during the #EndBadGovernance nationwide protests.

He had lamented that events in major cities on Thursday were “mass uprising and looting, not protests”.

“In places like FCT, Kaduna, Kano and Gombe, among others, we recorded incidents of unprovoked attacks on our security personnel where one policeman has been reported murdered and others seriously injured.

“In light of the current situation, the Nigeria Police Force has placed all units on red alert. Our officers are fully mobilised and prepared to respond swiftly and decisively to public safety and order,” the IGP had said.

Activist Deji Adeyanju had on the same day challenged the IGP to name the policeman he claimed was killed. He had said it was not true that a cop was killed.

The #EndBadGovernance protests against economic hardship scheduled for 10 days entered its third day on Saturday as resilient youths pushed on, insisting that President Bola Tinubu meets their demands.

Some of the demands of the protesters include the restoration of petrol subsidies and the forex regime. They also want the government to address food shortages, unemployment and wasteful spending by those in power. Other demands are reduction of the President’s cabinet and general cost of governance, immediate reforms of the electoral umpire INEC and anti-graft agency EFCC with renewed vigour in the fight against corrupt politicians.

The protests turn awry in Kano, Borno, Yobe, Kaduna, Jigawa, Nasarawa and other states where rampaging hoodlums took advantage of the situation and burned vehicles, looted warehouses and private stores.

Till the Day 3, policemen were seen dispersing protesters using tear gas, even as civil society organisations condemned the action of the police. (Channels TV, excluding headline)

•PHOTO: Nigerian policemen take position near protesters gathering during the End Bad Governance protest in Abuja on August 1, 2024. (Photo by Kola Sulaimon / AFP)

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